GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Hunting Gate => Topic started by: customcutter on February 03, 2022, 11:33:45 AM
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I've learned a few lessons in the past few days and thought I would pass them along for others.
#1. Don't put your game trail camera in line, with where you might be shooting from. I had a shot that wasn't full force. The pellet shot below it's intended target and hit my camera, and broke the black plastic over the IR light panel. Still works though 8)
#2. I moved my Ding Donger to an overhead position, about 4' above the station. At first I had it at the corner of my pool pointed toward the BS about 20' away. I realized after a large hawk flew down in front of it about 15' away that it wasn't working well. I moved the DD to about 5' in front of the BS pointed at the fence, but thought I might be missing some small targets. Another member suggested moving it overhead and I thought it might pick up smaller rodents. In the past 2 nights the DD has only gone off 3-4 times each night before midnight. Looking back at the SDcard I'm seeing 15-20 videos of oppossums and raccoons in that same time period. I'm going to move it back to ground level past the BS and pointing back toward the open part of the yard where critters are coming from.
#3. Secure your bait. The critters are grabbing bait and gone before I get out to take a shot. As soon as I leave they are back for another piece. I've been cutting up bait into small pieces so that they can't take it all at once. I'm going to start leaving pieces whole and securing with a screw, nail, string, wire, or something else to keep it in place while they eat. Last night the DD only went off 3 times before midnight.
#4. Where to shoot from. In my case I don't have any window access to shoot from. I've tried sneaking out the open pool door night before last. It was obvious in the videos that they were looking back toward me when I went out the open door before I could exit the screen enclosure. So last night I tried the garage door on the opposite side of the house. I'm not sure if they are sensing me trying to get to a shooting area, or if they are just naturally doing a "snatch and go". It seems as if in the video's after midnight that they stay at the station for longer.
#5. Lighting is important. I got a pair of Solar LED's that have 18650 batteries, and programmable colors. Right now I have a single LED set up about 4' in front of the BS. I can see fine with it through the 3X12X44 scope. I put it just off line with where I want to shoot from and programmed it for RED. I was hoping it might blind them to my presence, and help when I was trying to sneak into position. It obviously isn't blinding them, and not helping with my sneak attacks. I'm going to put out the second light today, programmed for WHITE and put it about 20' away still in line with my line of fire. Maybe it will actually blind them to my presence.
#6. So far I've had 2 FTK's with my AEA HP Carbine .25 cal. Both were my fault. In the first one I had topped of the .5L CF tank and slightly over pressurized it. It caused the valve to not open properly and I would guess the shot was about 1/2 power. It caused the shot to go low, and it actually hit my trail camera. :o The next day I tried shooting it several times to find out what the problem was and after a magazine it started functioning again. Several times the bolt would not fully cock and it misfired. It was still pretty cool that day. Last night I had another FTK. The gun misfired again, due to not fully cocking. Not sure if it was pressure related or if it's a lubrication issue. I will test the gun again today and probably have the pressure in the middle of the shot string. ;D
Hopefully between the white light, securing my bait, moving my Ding Donger to give earlier alarms, and getting the gun to shoot I can take out these pests.
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For what it's worth, my bait station set-up is very simple and works great:
- Bait station" is just a handful of whole corn at the base of a tree. This corn is cheap in bulk from Menards
- Ding-donger mounted to an adjacent tree, pointing horizontally at the handful of corn about 5' away.
Even 25 yards away, it sometimes (25%?) spooks the squirrels when I open the back door.
I learned to just slowly crack the door open enough to get the barrel out and brace on the door frame. Slowly swing the barrel down. Actually walking out would spook them 100% of the time. If your door seal is squeaky or something, you might want to put some talcum powder on the seals.
Opossums, I wouldn't shoot unless they're digging up your lawn; they're beneficial. (they eat ticks)
Raccoons, if left alone, will become pests eventually; shoot them. Same for skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, rats and mice.
To keep opossums away, you could just put the bait station on the side of a tree. Opossums and don't climb, but the rest will. (except skunks)
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Ken, I use a wireless doorbellcamera that sends push notifications to my phone via wifi with live feed video so I know instantly if it's a critter I need to inject with a lead sleeping pill! LOL! The doorcams are cheap off of ebay or amazon, I have an XSHCam from ebay about 35 bucks. Definitely use peanut butter for bait so they cannot make off with it. Oh...and the doorcam has built in infrared for nightime. You can also just view live streaming from cam at your leisure....has voice to and from also...I yell at possums! Use red lights to illuminate the area as critters cannot see the red light spectrum. I use a 15 watt red floodlight about 12 yards away. You can also record video as you shoot about 20 seconds worth.
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I would normally give the opossums a pass also. Last week we had the screen replaced on our pool enclosure. The very next day there were 2 large holes chewed through the screen. I suspected rats as they had invaded last spring when a new subdivision started construction behind our house. They ate every pod off of a 30' row of our baby lima beans, and ate several other veggies as well.
I ordered a light and trail cam that day, and put up the HF DD the same day. Still haven't seen a rat after 5 nights of surveillance, but the opossums and coon are a nightly visitor.
I didn't attract the opossums, they were here before I put up the bait station. Just trying to get them in an area to take them out. Not willing to give them a pass at almost $100 a panel on the screens. :o
Thanks for the reply.
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Thanks Randall, I may look into that, but right now I think I can make this system work for what I need. Also you mentioned Wifi. I don't think it will reach as it is probably 100' from my router. Also the lower the tech, the better it suits me. Kind of got left behind by the tech since I left my corporate job almost 15 years ago. KISS works for me usually. ;D
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Thanks for the tips. Going to bookmark this for reference, otherwise I won't remember in the coming months when I setup my station ;D
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Thanks for the tips. Going to bookmark this for reference, otherwise I won't remember in the coming months when I setup my station ;D
You're welcome. I should have done it last year when the rats first invaded instead of using the traps. Between the new subdivision and having a spring garden I probably trapped 2-3 dozen easy in a months time. They decimated our baby lima beans, and got some of the black eye peas and conk peas. I don't know if it was the taste of the lima's or the fact that they were so loaded they were almost laying on the ground. Had a 25' row almost ready to pick and they ate all of them right out of the pod. >:(
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This is a very cool thread with a lot of great information. Thanks to all for posting! I kind of envy some of you guy’s pest situations. I have two dogs and a semi feral cat that have the run of our property. When I put the dogs out the first thing they do is run to the bait station. My trail cam is full of pictures of the cat stalking dove or chasing squirrels. It’s deer that visit my bait station at night. Got pictures of a doe standing on her hind legs to tip over a squirrel feeder full of corn I had nailed to a tree. Another time she managed to knock down a dangling bird feeder. The garden is behind a six foot high fence since the armadillos teamed up with the deer. Nothing short of a full scale eradication campaign was going to discourage the dilla’s so I admitted defeat (More of them every night! Pellets won’t stop them!) and put up the fence. >:(
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Thanks Captain, I read several dozen threads and did a few searches. Still didn't give me any insight into real world scenarios. I thought it might help someone else and reduce the learning curve. I wish I had somewhere to take out some armadillos. Occasionally I see where one has dug a few grubs or worms in the yard, but no evidence on the game trail yet. You might have to get a PCP in .25 or .30 to deal with armadillos they have a pretty tough shell unless you are doing head shots.
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Thanks Randall, I may look into that, but right now I think I can make this system work for what I need. Also you mentioned Wifi. I don't think it will reach as it is probably 100' from my router. Also the lower the tech, the better it suits me. Kind of got left behind by the tech since I left my corporate job almost 15 years ago. KISS works for me usually. ;D
LOL Ken! You're welcome! Mine is about 100ft also and I for one am not tech savy...buy this was very easy to pair up! Your set up will work fine, mine is the lazy mans ratting set up...I just pop open the app an voila I get a doorcam view of the bait station or get alerts. Just use red lights as rats are not skittish around it.
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Ken,
you started a great thread —
and you started it with a LOT of very GOOD information.
Thanks!
Yupp, the URL is already marked in my hunting notes file! 😊
What a great place to share and help each other out here at GTA... 👍🏼
Matthias
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Ken,
you started a great thread —
and you started it with a LOT of very GOOD information.
Thanks!
Yupp, the URL is already marked in my hunting notes file! 😊
What a great place to share and help each other out here at GTA... 👍🏼
Matthias
Thanks Matthias. Yes the GTA is a great place to get information from technical to humorous. Loved your analysis of "How to git rid of an unwanted cat" Thread. I have benefited a great deal from info I've been able to get here. Hopefully it will help others and they don't have to re-invent the wheel. ;D
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I set up my second solar LED light yesterday. I programmed it for white and set it about 30' from the station in line with my area to shoot from. It's too far to illuminate the station, but my hope was that it would "blind" the vermin while I was trying to get to a shooting position.
It had a major impact on the opossums and raccoon. Before I was recording up to 18 videos before midnight, and the Ding Donger was going off 4-5 times . Last night it didn't alarm a single time before I went to bed a midnight. I'll check the video in a couple of hours to report when they started showing up. SWMBO came in a woke me at 6AM and said that the DD was going off but that the solar lights were not working, so no sense in getting up... I'll investigate that also. I'm guessing nothing showed up until the white light went out. Probably going to take a few days for them get used to it, if I continue to use it. ???
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Great thread Ken, and some sound advice! My main critter cam that monitors the bait station is over 50 yards from my router and it still picks up the signal, although sometimes it can be spotty when it's raining, but I'm a fair weather rat sniper, so it doesn't really matter that much to me!
I am able to shoot out my window, so I do have the convenience of shooting in inclement weather, but it's about a 50 yard shot to the the bait station, through a chainlink fence, so not the most ideal of conditions. Even with being that far away, and opening the window as slowly and quietly as possible, the critters still seem to sense it and will sometime turn tail and run! I think many of them are much smarter than we give them credit for! ;D
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I have a back window that overlooks my bait from exactly 35 yards. I’ve killed a bunch of squirrels on the feeder from this perch. Opening the window will generally spook anything on the feeders. So I’ll leave it partially open when I’m expecting visitors. I tape a big piece of corrugated card board up to obscure most of the window and opening. I leave a slot comfortably big enough to aim the rifle through but I’m mostly hidden from sharp eyed varmints. After the first week of squirrel season the nutters have the window figured out. They will only approach the feeder from angles I can’t see from the window. Any motion at the window will spook them. That’s why I had to resort to the piece of corrugated.
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Thanks Paul. I put in a security camera system at least 5 years ago. I think 6 or 8 cameras covering every angle of approach. Only problem is I've lost my password. :o I need to try figuring it out again. No camera on the outside of the pool screen though, they are on the inside. Unfortunately I don't have a window to shoot from unless I want to punch .25 cal holes through my brand new screens. Probably get me a whack with a skillet from SWMBO. ;)
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Thanks Captain. I can't shoot from the house to where the bait station is located I might have to relocate it if I can't figure out how too put the sneak on them.
Right now I have to go out the side door on the garage. I go down to the NE corner of the house, but I can't shoot from there as the pool screen is still blocking the view. I have to go another 8-10' before I can get a clear shot without hitting the pool screens. Twice I've seen the opossum at the station but he "senses" me and leaves or is just grabbing something and going. I'm not sure yet, so I tried securing the bait last night, but nothing showed up until the white light source went out.
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I viewed the camera footage. Apparently a feral cat that we haven't seen in over a month is back. He showed up about 1:30. Then the opossum showed up at 2:45AM, the white solar light was still burning then. His next visit wasn't until 3:30AM and the white light was out by then. He was pretty consistent after that showing up every 15-20 minutes until 6:30AM.
I'm going to try 1 more time where it's at with the bait secured and turn both solar lights to red. I raked all of the leaves out of my path the last 10' to reach my shooting area. I may try turning a pool lounge chair on it's side to block their view of me through the screened area.
If that doesn't work I might try moving the bait station around to the north side of the house. Then I can go out the pool deck area and shoot from the solid wall side of the house.
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best thing you can do is make yourself a blind you can shoot from, get some camo netting (sold cheap on amazon or Walmart), set up a shooting stand or table with the camo setup so you can get to it with out being seen, wear soft shoes (cheap fake fur slippers), too keep walking noise to it's lowest,
I shoot from a window in my Patio, I still have to have a blind because they can see movement from lights in the background, camo netting did the job. ;)
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best thing you can do is make yourself a blind you can shoot from, get some camo netting (sold cheap on amazon or Walmart), set up a shooting stand or table with the camo setup so you can get to it with out being seen, wear soft shoes (cheap fake fur slippers), too keep walking noise to it's lowest,
I shoot from a window in my Patio, I still have to have a blind because they can see movement from lights in the background, camo netting did the job. ;)
I do have a portable pop up blind that I use when trying to teach someone how to turkey hunt/call. Maybe I can time their pattern a little better rather than sitting for 2 hours for them to show up.
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Apparently switching one light to white for a single night has put the critters off their game. I switched both to red last night and it was still after midnight before Rory raccoon showed up.
I screwed down a piece of chicken breast with the backbone in it. First try he got part of the skin, second try he got the rest of the skin, and third try he got the rest of it off of the screw. He sat it on the ground and ate it there. The opossum has been grabbing items and running off camera and out of the light for several minutes before coming back. Also this is the first time that the raccoon has gotten to the bait before the opossums. Hmmm, is this different feeding behavior between the species, or is it because he knew there was more food available? Before he would stroll into the picture look for food and see nothing and be on his way. The opossum would grab a small piece of the food and take off with it to return 5-10 minutes later, after consuming it. The raccoon stayed in frame and ate all of the chicken, then pulled off a half and apple and made off with it. Interesting, I think I'm going to look for some type of mesh (onion bag comes to mind) or some hardware cloth. I think I have some 1/2" mesh in the shed. To put over the bait and secure it.
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I've observed the same, the raccoons just don't care, they'll sit right there in front of you and feast away! The possums are more the grab and go types! I have also observed that possums move slow enough that often times they will move in grab what I've left behind (dead rats) and make off with it and the camera never records their presence. They are kind of the ghosts of the night! :o ;D
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I've observed the same, the raccoons just don't care, they'll sit right there in front of you and feast away! The possums are more the grab and go types! I have also observed that possums move slow enough that often times they will move in grab what I've left behind (dead rats) and make off with it and the camera never records their presence. They are kind of the ghosts of the night! :o ;D
I read somewhere that a possums core temperature can be lower than what the heat detector is reading....have had the same thing bappen! Some possums trigger the cams heat detector and some do not.....weird! But, all rats trigger it...YES! LOL!
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I've observed the same, the raccoons just don't care, they'll sit right there in front of you and feast away! The possums are more the grab and go types! I have also observed that possums move slow enough that often times they will move in grab what I've left behind (dead rats) and make off with it and the camera never records their presence. They are kind of the ghosts of the night! :o ;D
All those empty pics and I thought that it was being triggered by something up to 75' away. Now I know it's a ghost. ;D
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I think I'm going to look for some type of mesh (onion bag comes to mind) or some hardware cloth. I think I have some 1/2" mesh in the shed.
To put over the bait and secure it.
This thread continues to be extremely educational! Cool ideas!! 😊👍🏼
This whole baiting business almost requires a scientific approach...! 😄
Matthias
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I also remembered that last night there was only a sliver of a moon that probably set about midnight. I know from years of deer hunting that they were always more active on dark nights as opposed to full moon nights. So the critters should be active early and all night long, until the moon starts increasing.
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Last night the opossum showed up at 8:20, but only stayed for less than a minute. Less time than I could have gotten to my shooting position. I don't think I spooked it. I sat in a chair behind a table saw with a tarp over it for nearly 20 minutes. I finally realized that most of the critters are approaching from the north. There was only 20' between me and the fence, so I was actually blocking their access. :o I went back inside and was determined to stay until the next visitor. I had taken a Walmart shopping bag and and double wrapped another piece of chicken in it, poked a few holes in it for scent release, and screwed it down to the bait station.
I thought that the critters had been showing up after the house was silent and I had gone to bed. So I turned off all the lights, TV, everything except my laptop, I spent the next 4 hours reading old threads in the Hunting Gate. Finally about 12:15, I got an alarm. Grabbed the Carbine and shooting stick, and headed toward the garage door. As I went through the kitchen I glanced out through the blinds, TOTAL DARKNESS! Yesterday had been overcast all day, so sometime between 8:30 and midnight the solar lights went out. :o
I reviewed the cam pics this morning. Puss was the culprit that triggered the alarm at midnight. The next critter wasn't till almost 3AM and it was Rory Raccoon. It took him less than 20 seconds to pull the chicken in the bag off of the screw and this time he made off with it immediately instead of eating it on the spot. Different from his last visit where he stayed at the station and ate each piece. I guess it was easy to carry in the bag.
Make sure your batteries are charged and you are not sitting up for an alarm with no working lights.
Don't make it easy for critters to take all of the bait by bagging it for them. :o
Don't sit in plain view of the animals approach angle. Last night was still overcast, and there was a lot of ambient light being reflected back down by the clouds. After sitting I few minutes my night vision returned and even I could see features in the yard.
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As I went through the kitchen I glanced out through the blinds, TOTAL DARKNESS! Yesterday had been overcast all day, so sometime between 8:30 and midnight the solar lights went out. :o
And there's your justification to invest in a night vision scope! ;D
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As I went through the kitchen I glanced out through the blinds, TOTAL DARKNESS! Yesterday had been overcast all day, so sometime between 8:30 and midnight the solar lights went out. :o
And there's your justification to invest in a night vision scope! ;D
I have an Armasight Zeus 3X12X75 that I bought almost 10 years ago. It's on my Grendel AR. I have thought about using it, but I'm not sure if I can get it to fit on the AEA HP Carbine. The mount on it is Picatinny and the AEA is 11mm. Also the 75mm objective might be a problem. If I can't figure out the vermin problem soon, I will get busy finishing up my BT65 bullpup conversion and it will mount on it! :o
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A little trick we in the park service use for trapping raccoons. Take a can of cheap cat food and punch four or five holes in it. Dribble some juice from the can around and then wire it to your bait station. We have to do this for coons that know how to steal the bait without tripping the trap.
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Wi fi. I couldn't get 5 ghz wifi to reach out to 100 feet, but 2,4 ghz worked fine.
Hunter
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A little trick we in the park service use for trapping raccoons. Take a can of cheap cat food and punch four or five holes in it. Dribble some juice from the can around and then wire it to your bait station. We have to do this for coons that know how to steal the bait without tripping the trap.
I've got one piece of chicken left. If I don't have any luck, I might have the wife pick up some canned cat food or sardines. ;D
Thanks for the tip.
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Wi fi. I couldn't get 5 ghz wifi to reach out to 100 feet, but 2,4 ghz worked fine.
Hunter
Thanks, I think we have both freq. on the router. Trying to go with low tech right now.
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Today was overcast again. I knew the bait station lights were going to be a problem. I even brought them inside and took the front cover off to see how easy it would be to get to the 18650 battery. 4 screws and the battery was right behind the front lens. Only trouble was I didn't want to spend half the day looking for the charger. So I stuck them out in the sun and hoped for the best.
I took the last piece of chicken breast and backbone and put it securely under a piece of 1/2" hardware cloth.
About :30 after dark the DD went off for the first time. I grabbed the gun headed out the garage door and peaked around the corner. Nothing, not the first ray of light. I was thinking that they didn't charge, but I just realized that I turned them off when I brought them in to pull the batteries. Talk about giving the enemy the advantage. :o
I came back in, left the TV on lights on. Figured tonight would just be a video night. A little after 8 the DD was off again. I ignored it, no lights, no way to spot the critter in the scope if I could make a sneak on it. Finally after 15-20 minutes of constant alarming I said what the heck I'll take the flashlight, maybe I'll get lucky. Sneaked up to the corner of the screens, hit the flashlight nothing. I said well, I'm sure he didn't come back north maybe he's on the south side of the pool in the garden. I walked over shined the light around the perimeter, nothing there. I was about to turn and come back in and for some reason I shined up in the mango tree. There it was 2 little beady eyes staring back at me through the large leaves. I tried to line up a shot through the leaves and limbs, and the eyes disappeared behind the dense leaves. I finally caught motion as it was moving further up the trunk of the tree. I couldn't see it for the leaves so I decided to walk under the tree almost directly under the opossum. Sure enough there it was about 15' up the tree. Scope was on 3X but try as I might it wouldn't focus, just a blur of fur. Finally I decided to aim down the side of the barrel, with the limb going up at an angle I figured a heart/lung shot and possibly into the head. Lined up the shot, squeezed the trigger, and it fell out of the tree almost instantly. I couldn't find the entry wound, but the exit wound was just left of center directly between the ears. I tried to get pics, but my tablet would not flash for some reason. I'll post pics in the AM. (I know no pics, it didn't happen.)
One opossum down and at least one more to go. As I've said before they normally get a pass from me due to eating ticks, etc. But I can't have them eating holes in my new screens.
This lesson, never give up!
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Here's a pic of the exit area. The shot actually entered just in front of the right shoulder and exited center top of the head behind the ears. I put him in a bucket of water to keep the raccoon or feral cat from making off with the body until I could get pics this morning. No picture, it didn't happen.
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Ken, excellent shot! Not mnay folks can claim to have shot thru the vitals and fuze box with one shot! No wonder it fell immediately from the tree.
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Ken, excellent shot! Not mnay folks can claim to have shot thru the vitals and fuze box with one shot! No wonder it fell immediately from the tree.
I was aiming down the side of the barrel, trying to hit the heart/lung area and then into the brain. From all the blood that was pumping out I thought that I had hit my target. This morning on closer examination I actually hit him just in front of the right shoulder and up through the top back of the head. I think I actually may have hit the artery in his neck, he was also bleeding out both ears.
I just finished watching the trail cam pic's/videos of last night. The second opossum showed up a little after midnight, and managed to pull the hardware clothe off of the station. :o
Puss the feral cat made several appearances also but was never able to get any of the chicken.
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Ken, excellent shot! Not mnay folks can claim to have shot thru the vitals and fuze box with one shot! No wonder it fell immediately from the tree.
I was aiming down the side of the barrel, trying to hit the heart/lung area and then into the brain. From all the blood that was pumping out I thought that I had hit my target. This morning on closer examination I actually hit him just in front of the right shoulder and up through the top back of the head. I think I actually may have hit the artery in his neck, he was also bleeding out both ears.
I just finished watching the trail cam pic's/videos of last night. The second opossum showed up a little after midnight, and managed to pull the hardware clothe off of the station. :o
Puss the feral cat made several appearances also but was never able to get any of the chicken.
Dang! That second possum is very strong! Hope you get it soon.
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Hello everyone, wanted to revisit this thread and show my initial night setup...
For the moment, I have a log set up between my barn and shed (in front of a tree) with a side board mounted as a critter ramp, and an (empty) pellet tin nailed on top of the log filled with cracked corn and a little peanut butter smeared around. There's a back board leaning behind it for now, but plan on something a bit different... Possibly giving it legs to level & stake into the ground, and/or making a silent trap of sorts. All I need is a ding-donger and maybe a trail cam set up. I had forgotten all about those until today :-[ ::) ;D
Of coarse I didn't take any day photos, but here's a few lit up with a red flood light in the barn light fixture... Front ( possible shooting) view first, then one from the rear and side some.
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If they don't find the bait immediately you might want to smear some pnut butter up/down your ramp. The HF ding donger works well for me. I tried a second one from Rural King and it wouldn't transmit 50'. Good luck, and post pics! ;D
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Thanks Ken, and will do ;D
I'm waiting on the DD to come in. Should be in next week. I plan on setting it up like your recommendations. I could have just run over to HF today for a DD, but found a trick baby monitor for $50 so added the DD to the order...
I figure on nice evenings I could set up the monitor outside, I'll make a box or stand for it. This one has a camera and night vision. Being next to the barn I'll have power, so that's not an issue. I was a bit overwhelmed with all the tech stuff out there regarding WiFi cameras & subscriptions, so figured go only semi high tech. I'll be able to see and hear, Just not record...
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That baby monitor isn't the one that's hidden in the teddy bear is it? My rats don't much care for the bears! I'd hate for them to get skooked by a creepy teddy bear staring at them! ;D
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That baby monitor isn't the one that's hidden in the teddy bear is it? My rats don't much care for the bears! I'd hate for them to get skooked by a creepy teddy bear staring at them! ;D
Lol, no creepy bear cams. They did have a micro cam that would link to an app, though. All kinds of them, but with mixed reviews on the software and cloud/storage/servers had me shy away.
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That baby monitor isn't the one that's hidden in the teddy bear is it? My rats don't much care for the bears! I'd hate for them to get skooked by a creepy teddy bear staring at them! ;D
Is that like the black dahlia movie with that creepy doll!? Gives me the hee-bee-gee-bees! 😳 LOL!